WAMU 88.5 Contributors

Patrick Madden

District Reporter

Madden is the District Reporter at WAMU. He has covered city hall for the past four years and has won several awards for his coverage, including last year's Edward R. Murrow for investigative journalism.

Madden is also a frequent guest analyst on The Politics Hour and was a panelist at the 2010 mayoral debate at the Newseum.

Before joining WAMU in 2006, Madden worked at NBC4 and C-SPAN. He is originally from New York, attended Emory University in Atlanta and holds a master's degree in journalism from American University.

He is a long suffering NY Mets fan.

Articles Written by Patrick Madden

D.C.'s attorney general says he supports proposed legislation aimed at removing the appearance of "pay-to-play" in city contracting.
One of the bills proposed would eliminate the council's role reviewing contracts worth more than $1 million. Supporters say the contracting process has become too politicized and that council members are not experts in procurement. Another bill...

Next month D.C.'s Department of Motor Vehicles will begin issuing drivers licenses to undocumented residents.
Last year, the D.C. Council passed a bill creating a second class license for people who cannot prove their legal status. It will be marked "not valid for official federal purposes" such as boarding an airplane or entering a federal building.
The councilâ€...

In the District, as the search for missing 8-year-old girl Relisha Rudd continues, Mayor Gray says it's time to take a thorough review of the D.C. government's actions in her case.
D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray has ordered a pair of deputy mayors to review all the interactions District government agencies had with Relisha before she went missing.
The girl was last seen M...

Mayor Vincent Gray presented his final budget to the D.C. Council on Monday, marking the beginning of a two-month budget season that could get political.
Gray's $6.79 billion spending plan calls for big investments in affordable housing and public education, and would fund a brand-new hospital in Ward 8.
But members of the Council are already sounding the alarm o...

Officials in D.C. are preparing to redraw the city's school boundaries, which could affect where thousands of students attend school.
It's been over three decades since the city last changed its school boundaries: the geographic lines that determine which elementary school a student can attend. The city is also looking other ways to change how students are assigned to schoo...

In less than 24 hours, the polls will open in the D.C. mayoral primary. And if early voting is an indication, turnout could be low for tomorrow's election.
Early voting is now over. Roughly 14,000 voters participated, less than the 22,000 early voters that cast a ballot in 2010. That's a 36 percent drop off, despite the fact the city opened up more early early voting center...

With a week to go until primary day, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray enters the final stretch with a cash advantage over his opponents.Â
The latest campaign finance reports show Gray with $320,000 on-hand. Council member Muriel Bowser, who polls show is neck and neck with Gray, is second, with just over...

It's now easier to cast a ballot in this year's D.C. mayoral primary. The city has opened up a dozen more early voting centers across the city.
This year the city's board of elections also set up a webpage showing the approximate wait times at each of the 13 early voting centers. The website also lists the addresses for the e...

The Alexandria City Council has voted to create bicycle lanes on the city's busy King Street after debating a plan that will eliminate some parking spaces.
The city council voted unanimously over the weekend to approve the plan recommended by the city's transportation chief. The plan calls for removing 27 parking spaces west of Old Town to make room for bike lanes between J...

Early voting begins today for D.C.'s mayoral primary, but on a delay after this morning's snow storm.
For the next five days, early voting can only take place at the One Judiciary Square building in northwest D.C., which is located at 441 Fourth Street. And at least for Monday, they have a delayed opening at 10 a...

The campaign treasurer for a former D.C. councilmember has been indicted on charges of stealing $115,000 from a campaign account.
A 14-count indictment against Hakim Sutton was unsealed Wednesday. Sutton was the treasurer for Michael Brown, who lost his reelection bid in 2012 after announcing that most of his campaign funds had been stolen.
Brown was later convict...

District of Columbia Council member David Catania is filing paperwork to run for mayor as an independent in the midst of a fundraising scandal involving Mayor Vincent Gray's 2010 campaign.
Catania could pose a challenge to the Democratic nominee in this year's general election, even though the district is heavily Democratic. Catania is a gay former Republican with a progres...

Teachers in Montgomery County have ratified a new contract that gives raises totaling 5.5 percent over three years, but it also requires educators to pay more for health insurance.
The Washington Post reports tha...

Residents in Northeast D.C. have filed a complaint alleging inaction by a D.C. police officer while responding to a street brawl.
The Washington Post reports that the fight broke out Friday night in the T...

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